LGBTQ in Albania: A Life Lived in Hiding

Sep 24, 2026 | Up until the mid-90s, if you were openly gay in Albania, you would be sent to prison. Many homosexuals still face bigotry and violence, even in their own homes.

In the last five years, Albania has seen a dynamic LGBTQ movement. Gay activists have created secret guest houses in Tirana that offer shelter to young homosexuals who have been brutally abused.

We travelled to Albania and recorded rare glimpses into the lives of people who have been victimized and neglected because of their sexual orientation in one of Europe's most homophobic countries.

This documentary was produced by VICE Media and directed by Nina Foufa. It was first released in 2015.

Why Are Albanians Calling for Revolution? | On the Ground

Sep 10, 2026 | Thousands of protesters are flooding the streets of Tirana in the biggest unrest Albania has seen since the collapse of communism.

It began as the “flamingo revolution”, sparked by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s plans for a luxury mega-resort on a public nature reserve island. But the protests have since grown into a wider challenge to Prime Minister Edi Rama’s government, which is accused of selling off Albania’s coastline to the elites.

Matthew Cassel travels to Albania to see how an environmental fight over one island has escalated into a political battle over the country’s future.

The Last Days of Europe’s Most Paranoid Communist State | 60 Minutes Australia

Aug 31, 2026 | For nearly half a century, Albania operated as Europe's most isolated, secretive, and paranoid communist state under the iron-fisted rule of Marxist-Leninist leaders.

In 1990, just before the regime collapsed, 60 Minutes reporter Jennifer Byrne gained rare access to "The Land Time Forgot," exploring a bizarre society where foreign debt and contraceptives were banned, and the average citizen earned just sixty dollars a month.

The Ivanka Trump, Kanye West Albania Situation Is Crazy

July 27, 2026 | For more than a decade, Albanian Prime Minster Edi Rama has been viewed as the liberal, cosmopolitan face of a rapidly changing Albania.

The reality behind this façade, however, is much different, and recent events highlighted by both Ivanka Trump and Kanye West are exposing the true nature of one of Europe's favorite politicians.

How the World’s Worst Person Became the First Trillionaire

July 19, 2026 | “When people can buy elections, when people can buy governments… that for me is a fundamentally a threat to democracy.

Being against billionaires is not a left right issue. This is about whether you care about democracy or not.” The world’s worst person is also the world’s first trillionaire.

In this latest episode of ‘Unshocked,’ Naomi Klein and Mehdi Hasan break down what Elon Musk’s trillionaire status means for democracy, capitalism, and the rise of racism.

In the conversation, Naomi and Mehdi explain how political corruption, government subsidies, and IPO promises make up Musk’s new trillionaire status.

They also dive into what the increased influence of billionaires means for the state of democracy, noting how Musk is taking advantage over people’s anger over wealth inequality and directing it to migrants. They also discuss how SpaceX IPO is based on unrealistic goals, Musk’s feud with Ro Khanna and protests in Albania over the Trump family.

Kushner & Ivanka's $1.4 Billion Albania Land Grab | Trump Family First | Reupload

June 12, 2026

If it looks like a doll, talks like a doll, sounds like a doll, dresses like a doll, then it probably is a doll! 😊 – Mark

Albanians Lead Flamingo Revolution Opposing Kushner's Luxury Coastal Project | WION News

Jun 29, 2026 | Protesters in Albania have taken to the streets against a controversial holiday property development, raising concerns over environmental impact, land use and transparency. Demonstrators say the project threatens local communities and natural landscapes, fuelling a growing public backlash.

Furious World Leaders Ban Ivanka and Send Warning

Jun 23, 2026 | MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas and Katie Phang report on European leaders banning the Ivanka and Jared Kushner Island in Albania if Albania intends to continue pursuing its path to join the European Union.

‘We Want a New Albania’: Protests against Jared Kushner-backed Resort Turn Anger on Government

This screenshot is from this Guardian article. | Thousands of people protesting outside the prime minister’s office in Tirana on Saturday. | Photograph: Vlasov Sulaj/Nur Photo/Shutterstock
THE GUARDIAN: Opposition to plans for ‘small paradise’ island of Sazan becomes wave of dissent against establishment

For Ina Shkurti, like so many Albanians, the island of Sazan has played an outsized role. As a child she bathed in its “always calm and emerald green” waters, as a teenager it figured in her dreams and as an adult it was an indelible part of the memory and desire that drew her back, every summer, to Vlore, her home town across the sea.

What Shkurti never imagined was that plans to build a mega-resort on Sazan – one of two luxurious complexes on Albania’s southern coast backed by Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner – would trigger a revolt, an uprising that has convulsed the Balkan state in a spasm of disgust over the perceived excesses of “a rotten oligarchic class” just as it hopes to complete accession talks with the EU.

“Am I outraged? Of course I am,” the cartographer said as the contours of the uninhabited outcrop came into view from a speedboat scudding towards its shores. “Sazan is our only island. It’s a small paradise that holds a special place in the hearts and minds of Albanians. Having some rich couple come in, develop it, and then deny us access, would be a crime.”

Not since the collapse of communism, more than three decades ago, has Albania been shaken by such collective fury. At 32, Shkurti, whose family emigrated to the US when she was 11, is typical of the tens of thousands, both in and outside the country, who have taken to the streets in what has become known as the “flamingo revolution” because of the threat posed by the proposed resorts to wildlife and delicate ecosystems on the sites.

“This government no longer represents us,” she said. “It has chosen to represent oligarch investors like Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. These protests are not going to stop, even if they’re no longer exclusively about them.”

Every day, she said, friends from Albania’s diaspora were flying in to join the rallies. In the biggest so far, thousands converged on Tirana at the weekend, many travelling from the US and other parts of Europe, to add their voices to the wave of dissent. » | Helena Smith in Vlore and Tirana | Monday, June 22, 2026

A Look at the Albanian Island Where a Kushner-Trump Resort Plan Has Sparked Protests

Jun 11, 2026 | Albania's Sazan Island is a jewel in the Adriatic Sea. The former Cold War-era base is now in a luscious nature preserve and an inviting prospect for real estate developers. Chief among them is Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Their plans are running headlong into Albanians who want to keep what's theirs. Special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky and producer Katia Patin report.

Michael Lambert: Kushner & Ivanka's $1.4 Billion Albania Land Grab | Trump Family First

Jun 12 , 2026 | When Ivanka Trump jumped off a friend's superyacht near Albania, she came back with more than a tan. She came back with a $1.4 billion development plan. This is the story of Ken and Barbie's Island — how Jared Kushner, bankrolled by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other Gulf states, is attempting to turn Sazan Island, a former Russian military base of outstanding natural beauty, into an exclusive playground for the global elite.

In this video I cover:

• How the Albanian government secretly rushed through legislation to enable the sale
• The history of Sazan Island — and why destroying it matters
• The Albania protests that have rocked the country for over ten days
• Kushner's track record on similar projects in Serbia — and why it doesn't inspire confidence
• The criminal investigation launched by Albania's anti-corruption prosecutors (SPAK)

And I ask the obvious question: when the son-in-law of the most powerful man on earth comes knocking, just how much does Albanian democracy cost? This is a story about wealth, corruption, environmental destruction — and the extraordinary reach of Trump family power.

What Albania Teaches Us about Kushner's Real Estate Tactics

Jun 10, 2026 | Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, has finalized a deal with Albanian officials to allow construction on Sazan Island in the Adriatic Sea.

The $1.6bn project is expected to build luxury tourism real estate on the pristine island and surrounding waters and wetlands. Spurned [sic] by the potential environmental impact of the plan and the possibility of corrupt dealings, demonstrators have taken to the streets of Albania's capital city demanding an end to the project.

Cate Brown, the Guardian's political enterprise reporter, examines what the Kushner real estate deal on Sazan Island can teach us on how Donald Trump’s son-in-law pursues real estate ventures and examines why Albania isn't alone in its fight

Jennifer Welch: Why Is Ivanka Building Her Own Private Island Right Now?

Jun 4, 2026 | Jennifer Welch of the I've Had It podcast joins Jim Acosta to react to reports that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have purchased a 1,400-hectare private island in the Adriatic Sea off Albania, reportedly for $1 billion. Welch alleges the timing raises serious questions given Jared Kushner's $2 billion deal with Saudi Arabia and his alleged ties to efforts to shield Ghislaine Maxwell. Jim and Jen also cover Trump's UFC arch on the White House South Lawn, Hunter Biden fighting back against MAGA attacks, the far right's alleged war on the free press including the targeting of 60 Minutes, and what Jen calls the "repressed sexuality" underpinning the MAGA movement's culture war obsession.

Very strong language alert!

The Trumps are eco-saboteurs. They should be STOPPED. You can help stop them and help protect Sazan Island from the Trump family by signing this petition: Sign it here.

Why Ivanka’s Albanian Dream Is a Protester's Nightmare • FRANCE 24 English

Jun 5, 2026 | Erisa Kryeziu is an Albanian journalist for the independent media outlet Citizens.AL, based in Albania. She reported on the ground on the protests against the construction activity.

When is the civilized world going to be free of the Grifter-in-Chief and his family of grifters, the Trump chumps if you will? If you are anything like I am, you are sick to death of hearing about that corrupt family and the family’s little helpers. The news is full of Trump this and Trump that. The whole thing is so damn TIRESOME. The pain that those American DORKS unleashed upon the world when they voted for that orange fascist is unbelievable! It is high time that Americans start to try and undo their dangerous experiment. Electing a businessman into high political office is NEVER a good idea. A businessman’s raison d’être is ALWAYS the bottom line: profit. And so it has been with Trump at the helm. The profit, of course, is always for him, his family, and his little helpers. However, a sound, well-run economy is far, far more than this. A sound, well-run economy should ALWAYS be run for the benefit of all. Such a concept is totally and utterly alien to people like Trump and his chumps.

This Albanian nightmare is proof of corruption at the top — at the top of Albanian society, and corruption at the top of American society. STOP this DAMN CORRUPTION! — © Mark Alexander

Ivanka Trump's Sazan Island Dream Project Torpedoed? Albania Protests Kushner–Rama Deal

Jun 7, 2026 | A major luxury development linked to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner is facing growing backlash in Albania, where thousands of protesters have taken to the streets against the proposed $1.4 billion Sazan Island project.

Demonstrators have targeted the development, backed by Kushner's Affinity Partners, with some invoking Jeffrey Epstein as they criticize the plan.

The controversy has intensified scrutiny of the high-profile project and fuelled debate over its political, environmental and economic impact on the Balkan nation.


It sounds to me as if the Albanian government is as corrupt as Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and the rest of the mob! I hope and trust that Albanians will be successful in stopping this crazy project. The Trumps have kitsched up just about everything they have ever touched—just look at that Oval Office for proof!—so don’t let them kitsch up Albania’s beautiful coastline now, as well. — © Mark Alexander

Living in Albania | The Country Communism Forgot to Leave | 4K Documentary

Jun 3, 2026 | A country the size of Maryland built one hundred and seventy-three thousand concrete bunkers — roughly one for every sixteen people — against an invasion that never came.

For forty-one years it was the only nation in Europe to declare itself atheist by law.

One fifth of its people now live abroad.

This is Living in Albania. On a hillside above the village of Leskovik, a shepherd ducks into a concrete bunker the size of a refrigerator and hangs his canvas bag from a hook that was drilled into the wall in 1979. The country has one hundred and seventy-three thousand of them, built between 1967 and 1986.

On the Adriatic coast at Vlorë, a plaque above the harbour names a date: the seventh of March, 1991, when twenty-five thousand Albanians left this port in six days for the Italian shore. A few streets back from the water, the apartment blocks the regime poured in grey have been repainted, one building at a time, in cobalt and ochre.

Mass Protests Erupt in Albania over Kushner–Ivanka Trump Tourism Project

Jared and Ivanka’s mega resort not wanted in Albamia.

Can Trump's family do business abroad without controversy? | DW News

Jun 5, 2026 | Thousands of Albanians have taken to the streets to protest a proposed $1.6 billion luxury resort linked to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

Supporters say the project will bring jobs, investment and tourism. Critics argue it raises questions about transparency, political influence, environmental protection, and Albania's ambitions to join the European Union.

Casey Michel of the Human Rights Foundation joins DW News to examine what the controversy reveals about foreign investment, political power and the global influence of the Trump family.


Shoo those Trumps away! — © Mark Alexander

Thousands March against Kushner-backed $1.6 Billion Albania Resort | APT

Jun 5, 2026 | Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tirana, Albania, opposing a €1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) luxury resort project linked to Jared Kushner's investment firm. Demonstrators accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of allowing development in the environmentally sensitive Zvernec-Narta Lagoon, home to thousands of flamingos and other protected wildlife. Protesters carried banners reading "Albania Is Not For Sale" and demanded the government's resignation, arguing that the project threatens the country's natural and cultural heritage.

Jared Kushner's Albania Resort Project Triggers Mass Protests | Vantage on Firstpost

Jun 3, 2026 | Thousands of Albanians are protesting a luxury resort project linked to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law. The project involves 10,000 hotel rooms across 2.5 square kilometres of protected coastal land on Sazan Island and the Vjosa-Narta nature reserve. Albania’s powerful anti-corruption body has opened a formal investigation into how the land was acquired. Private security guards were filmed dragging a protester along a cliff. Ivanka Trump called Sazan a private island they discovered. Hem Kaaur Saroya breaks down what the project involves and why the pattern keeps repeating.